 "Photo: Emily Grund/Collegian")
The city of Northampton was dubbed the "Paradise of America" by Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," but a group of protestors argued city officials are closing the gates to its least fortunate.
On Thursday, about 50 city residents, students and local panhandlers marched in an impromptu street performers' parade, protesting city lawmakers' attempts to limit begging within city limits.
They organized specifically against Ordinance 285-63, which includes mode and place limitations that do not outright ban the practice from the town. But the protestors' signs, chants and drum beats declared the ordinance's language is specific and restrictive enough to criminalize panhandling in much of the city.
The ordinance restricts panhandlers from asking for money within 15 feet of a bus stop, ATM, bank or public telephone. They cannot ask people who are waiting for something, and will not be allowed to ask for money while passively sitting or standing. Requesting money while sitting on a public bench or while in a public park will also be prohibited.
The ordinance also drew attention from Western Massachusetts ACLU attorney William Newman, who criticized the language of the ordinance, and said much of the restrictions are already covered under other city laws and offered to intervene against it legally if it is required. He is currently working with city officials to eliminate wording that would limit free speech.
If passed, those who do not comply with the law can face a fine between $50 and $300.
David Beyer, who protested as a representative from the Freedom Center's "Poverty is Not a Crime" campaign, said the fines are too steep. Incarceration is the alternative to an individual's inability to pay, and he said imprisonment is a poor alternative to homelessness.
Northampton mayor Clare Higgins said to area media outlets that the intention of the ordinance is not to criminalize extreme poverty but instead to make panhandlers act more reasonable when on the streets interacting with other residents. She said outlawing panhandling outright is in violation of the First Amendment, which supports free speech and a citizen's right to ask others for money.
The ordinance was proposed in response to a number of complaints which claim the city's panhandlers were overly aggressive and, in some cases, verbally abusive when seeking donations.
The city has fielded these complaints for years and has encouraged residents and visitors to contribute to local shelters and organizations that work directly with them providing services and supplies.
But Caty Simon, also from the campaign, said this is the equivalent to asking people "not to feed the animals."
Simon said the decision will be made by the Northampton City Council and not the public, so she said her group's goal is to spark a public outcry. The group will use a mix of petitions, phone banks and presentations at city council meetings to get out its message.
She said the group hopes to involve a large number of those interested because "those people who have a vested interest in this are not just the Main Street businesses . . . but also the street people and the activists..."
But Judith Fine, owner of Gazebo at 14 Center St., said aggressive panhandling is an issue that affects other panhandlers, business owners and patrons of the downtown area alike.
She told Northampton's Daily Hampshire Gazette that customers complain of harassment and communicate how uncomfortable they feel when entering and exiting downtown establishments.
Contrarily, Northampton business owner Rachel Hannah said customers' discomfort should not trump panhandlers' First Amendment rights.
"We can't base ordinances on class, and that's what this is," she said.
Hannah said she often refuses to give panhandlers money because it is her right to say so just as much as it is the right of the panhandler to ask.
"It's not a requirement," she said.
She admitted that few people would tell her that they like to be asked for money - that it is awkward.
"But that's why it is important for us not to pass this," she said. "You can't pass laws based on people being uncomfortable."
A man simply known as "Boxcar" said that like anything there are two sides of the coin.
He has traveled as a panhandler throughout the country and cited that the city of Northampton is among the friendliest and most receptive of panhandlers in the country.
"I've seen people looking for quarters and chasing down people around here to get it," he said while sitting on a stoop, looking for donations. He would be violating the ordinance should it pass. "But you've got to be respectful. If people want to give you a dollar or something, they'll find a way to do it."
William McGuinness can be reached at wmcguinn@gmail.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!